The Travel Recovery That Wasn't

Most of us did leave the house this year—we just didn’t go very far.

- Nikki Ekstein

If your passport is still collecting dust, you’re hardly alone. A full recovery for the tourism industry was never expected in 2021—most estimates peg a return to “normal” by 2024. But the current travel economy varies greatly depending on what region you’re looking at.

The Caribbean, for instance, is “recovering at a faster rate than any other region in the world,” shows an October study from the World Travel & Tourism Council. That’s a relief after years of rebuilding following hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. Travel’s contribution to global GDP rose 30% in 2021, on average, from 2020. In the Caribbean, that figure was 47%, a difference of $12 billion for local economies. If that continues, the region could surpass its record-setting 2019 by next year.

The U.S. is also faring better than expected. Models from STR, a hospitality data and analytics company, have bumped the timeline for its travel recovery up a full year, to 2023, even though international tourism resumed only in November.

But generally, within regions, there have been winners and losers. “If you’re leisure-oriented, with access to beaches or mountains, you did well or you did